Thankful To God For Just One Drop Of Water

Luke 16:22-26, “And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.”

I woke up this morning and went to drink a bottle of cold Dasani mineral water (my favorite). As I drank the cold refreshing water, as I often do, I thought about the rich man suffering in the torments of Hell (Luke 16:19-31), begging Abraham for just ONE DROP OF WATER! Abraham said that it was IMPOSSIBLE to grant the rich man's request. Of course, the suffering man was no longer “rich.” Once upon a time he had lived a life of luxury, pleasure, extravagance and plenty. In hindsight, the once wealthy man now realized in horror that his earthly life had been a grand illusion. Now he was burning in the fires of Hell, suffering in torments.

I never drink a cold bottle of water without thanking God for it, expressing my heartfelt appreciation for God's abundant blessings in my life. How many people are thankful to God for having JUST ONE DROP OF WATER?  Cool, clear, water!!! Amen and amen! We Americans are so spoiled rotten! It disgusts me how spoiled we are. I am including our nation's pastors, who are among the most spoiled rotten group of people I know of. The average pastor's annual salary is a staggering $80,000 in 2021. That is disgusting! Bible college presidents and vice presidents get paid undeserving 6-digit extravagant salaries. It is sickening!!!

Yet our country continues to plummet into the fires of Hell. God's curse is upon Calvinist infidels like Steve Pettit, Ray Comfort, Marty Herron, Gary Walton, Church Phelps, John Piper, Adrian Rogers, John MacArthur and Paul Washer, who are as guilty as John Wayne Gacy type mass-murderers! In his demented homosexual rage, Mr. Gacy raped and murdered over 40 young men. People cringe and have a difficult time wrapping their brain around such morbid wickedness. Yet, all of these wicked ministers that I just named pervert the Gospel of free grace, damning thousands of souls to the Lake of Fire for ever!

These false teachers all require that people live a lifestyle of turning away from sin in order to get to Heaven. These reprobate preachers all misunderstand “repentance” to mean more than a simple “change of mind.” Instead they embellish and redefine “repent” to falsely mean, “to turn away from sinful behavior.” If people continue living a lifestyle of sin, Calvinists declare them as unsaved, accusing them of never having repented of their sins to be saved. This is what Marty Herron, Charles Lawson and Steve Pettit preach! Read for yourself what Ray Comfort preaches, saying that you must LIVE A LIFESTYLE to get to Heaven. These ungodly men are all in agreement with the Mormon sex cult on repentance.

Dear reader, if you believe only in a simple free grace Gospel—rejecting all the Devil's heresies of wrong repentance, Lordship Salvation and false Bibles—you are so blessed of God! The Bible warns that MANY FALSE PROPHETS are gone out into the world. 1st John 4:1, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” The Bible exhorts every Christian believer to try (test) every spirit, because many false teachers are in the world. Any spirit that is not the Holy Spirit is a familiar spirit (a demon).

Since man is a spirit with a body, and the demons and Satan are spirits without a body, and God's Holy Spirit indwells every saint of God, everything boils down to the spirit world. This is why we read in the inspired Holy Bible:

Ephesians 6:10-16, “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”

Many Bible students are familiar with this passage, quoting the portion about our battle being against the spirit but not the flesh. But they naively pass over verse 10, which says to PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOUR OF GOD, that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the Devil. The word “wiles” is interesting, which is the Greek word methodeia, which means “trickery, to lie in wait.” The Devil is a trickster, a deceiver, more clever than most people can imagine.

The Devil is so masterful at deceiving people that he convinced a group of religious people in Matthew 7:21-23 that they were saved, but Jesus denied knowing them and they went to Hell forever! Satan is so cunning at his trickery, that he successfully convinces most people that they will go to Heaven, when in reality they won't. Luke 13:23-24, “Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.” Those deceived people wouldn't seek to enter into Heaven unless they sincerely thought they had a right to do so. The only right upon which anyone has ever, or will ever, enter into the Kingdom of God is the precious blood of Jesus (1st Peter 1:18-19). JESUS PAID IT ALL!!!

My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus Christ, my righteousness;

I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;

All other ground is sinking sand,

All other ground is sinking sand.

The cross alone has always been the one and only way of true salvation for humanity...

The cross upon which Jesus died

Is a shelter in which we can hide

And its grace so free is sufficient for me

And deep is its fountain as wide as the sea

There's room at the cross for you

There's room at the cross for you

Though millions have come there's still room for one . . .

Dear friend, are you truly thankful for all that God has given to you? Have you ever thanked God for JUST ONE DROP OF WATER? I am not boasting, but I thank God all the time. God knows that I thank Him multiple times during every meal that I eat, thankful not only for my food that God provides for me, but also for the health and amazing taste buds which allows me to enjoy God's provisions. Evolution couldn't do that! I feel sorry for ingrates who attribute all the wonderful blessings, provisions and joys of life to mere happenstance, accidental aftermath and cosmic chaos.

No friend, the only logical reality is God. There is a divine Creator and He is a supremely powerful, loving and good God. It is not God's fault that the world is full of starvation, war and evil, mankind is 100% to blame. Satan has no power except the power that we give him. The Devil has never achieved a single evil throughout history, that wasn't done through the willing cooperation of a sinful human being.

Romans chapter one links a spirit of gratitude with obedience to God. Romans 1:21, “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” Being thankful to God is essential for everything pertaining to coming to Christ. As we just read, people who are unthankful to God refuse to glorify (acknowledge) Him as God. The rich man in Hell begged for just one drop of water. Can you imagine such desperate thirst? Can you imagine such a dire circumstance? The thought itself is horrifying! Please think about that each time you enjoy a cold glass of refreshing water.

How could a rich man, who lacked nothing materialistic while alive upon the earth, end up burning in Hell without even a single drop of water to quench his thirst? Dear reader, that will be your fate too unless you repent (change your mind) from unbelief to believing the Gospel (i.e., the Good News) of Christ crucified on the cross for your sins, buried and bodily risen three days later (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). That is what Jesus meant in Luke 13:5, “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” The Lord wasn't telling them to turn away from a lifestyle of sinning; but rather, to change their mind and get saved.

The rich man while alive on earth heard the Word of God. He was familiar with the Old Testament prophets (Moses, Isaiah, Elijah, Daniel, et cetera). Luke 16:31, “And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.” The rich man in Hell, after being denied a drop of water, made a second request to Abraham. The suffering man asked Abraham to send Lazarus from the dead to warn his five living brothers, lest they also end up burning in the torments of Hell forever.

Abraham made a startling statement in Luke 16:31, which I just quoted to you, saying that if the suffering man's five living brothers won't heed the written  Word of God, then NOTHING else will convince them. Wow! That is an amazing truth. Dear reader, if you won't take heed to the inspired King James Bible, then nothing else will convince you to come to Jesus Christ as your own personal Savior. The choice is yours alone to make dear friend. Time is running out. Hopefully you have already made that wise decision to REST completely in the finished redemptive work of Christ (Hebrews 4:10-11). But if not, please don't delay, because life is what happens to you while you're making big decisions. Today could very well be the last day of our life. If not, it assuredly is the first day of the rest of our life!